Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)

As big fans of Emma Thompson, Jack and I were happy to see her latest (and were not disappointed), in which a 60-something London widow hires a young male prostitute to check sexual experiences off her bucket list. Thompson and Daryl McCormack bring plenty of depth to the roles of Nancy and Leo. 

This and another one (coming soon to these pages) do not get the age thing right. Imdb says her character is 55 but Thompson is 63, and her character seemed to me to be in her 60s or older. Director Sophie Hyde and writer/“creator” Katy Brand are 45 and 43, respectively, so perhaps they couldn’t bear to age their Nancy so much.

The music by Stephen Rennicks can be streamed on Apple Music and elsewhere.

There is a movement afoot to stop using the term “sex workers,” as some folks believe such people are victims of human trafficking. That may be true elsewhere, but Leo is no victim and the term is used a lot in this movie.

It was shot in 19 days in Norfolk, England.

Thompson was last blogged for Cruella and McCormack for Pixie. Hyde and Brand are new to me, though experienced. It may be relevant to note that Brand, who has more credits for acting than other jobs, had a small part in Nanny McPhee Returns (2010), which Thompson wrote and played the the title character. I put creator in quotations, above, because I’ve never seen it before as a movie credit.

Rotten Tomatoes’ critics are very lucky, averaging 95%, and its audiences are almost as fortunate at 85.

We watched it June 22 on Hulu.